Prescription Pill Peddling Doctor Blames Actions On Split Personality

A bizarre case in New York is unfolding after a well-known doctor was found to be part of a prescription pill drug ring, in which she pleaded guilty to the serious charges. The twist, however, is that the physician claims her actions were controlled by one of her twelve multiple personalities. According to a report from the New York Post, the claims made by the doctor appear to be a ploy in order to dodge a lengthy prison sentence.

Dr. Diana Williamson, 56, of Harlem found adoration in the New York public health system after starting the Crossroads Medical Research facility which administered treatment to poor AIDS patients in Brooklyn. Last week, Williamson pleaded guilty to charges of peddling 30 fake prescriptions for the pills OxyContin and Percocet and faces up to 14 years in prison; the number of prescriptions written would have defrauded Medicaid more than $300,000 in total.

Williamson claims that the personality “Nala,” a pre-teen girl, took over her body and committed the pill crimes. “She was naive in her thoughts, and she didn’t understand what was going on fully,” said Williamson. “She thought she was doing favors for people. She didn’t realize it was a crime.” Williamson forgave Nala for her actions by saying, “Nala is part of me, and I obviously feel bad about what happened, but I don’t have any hard feelings toward Nala,”

Williamson revealed that Nala and her other personalities manifested themselves as a response to sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of a priest. The doctor accused Lenny Hernandez, the convicted leader of the drug ring, of during Nala into the pill scheme and claims to have no memory of writing the script. Williamson was working for New York’s Citicare Clinic when in 2010, she and eight others were busted as part of an undercover sting.

Williamson’s psychiatrist Dr. Paula Eagle has been treating the shamed doctor since 1991 and diagnosed her with dissociative identity disorder in 1992. Manhattan Judge Loretta Preska was doubtful of Williamson’s claims, saying that her disorder didn’t bar her from becoming a successful caregiver.